The close relationship between the divine patriarch El and his earthly counterpart, the Syrian king, may be expressed in this male figure wearing a wrapped mantle with thickly rolled borders and a version of the Egyptian white crown. As the eternal king, he might wear the Mesopotamian horns of divinity or the Egyptian white crown. As a mortal ruler, this figure may appear in the presence of such deities as the weather god and the Syrian goddess with the square miter. Examples appear on the cylinder seals rolled on tablets at the city of Alalakh, an important center in northwestern Syria.

Pittman, Holly, in collaboration with Joan Aruz. 1987. Ancient Art in Miniature: Near Eastern Seals from the Collection of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p.41, fig. 22.Annual Report of the Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 116 (July 1, 1985 - June 30, 1986), p. 16.